Web Rumblings: Buffalo Bills News, 8/5

Practice Notes - Day 5 - BuffaloBills.com
"It was great to see everybody and most everybody made some kind of play out there," said head coach Chan Gailey. "It was great. It was good to see those guys. I didn’t see much of Nick (Barnett) because I’m watching the offense obviously. I’ll have to go watch it on film. It looked like he got around the ball a couple of times. Drayton made a play or two. I saw that. I thought Tyler did some nice things for not ever having taken a snap in our offense, at least the one here. So it was good."

Bills Roundup: New Additions Hit the Field - BuffaloBills.com
"All of the newcomers hit the practice field for the first time on Thursday night, plus the Bills add a wide receiver, and check out the top plays from practice."

Chan Gailey Thursday Night Press Conference - BuffaloBills.com
"The Bills head coach talks about the first practice for the new additions, the play of tight end Scott Chandler, and the acquisition of wide receiver Buster Davis."

Tyler Thigpen Ready for First Practice - BuffaloBills.com
"The new Bills quarterback talks about his relationship with Chan Gailey, and being prepared for his first practice. "

Brad Smith Ready to Prove Doubters Wrong - BuffaloBills.com
"The new Bills quarterback talks about wanting to play in a tough division, wanting to win a Super Bowl, and what he saw in Ryan Fitzpatrick last year."

Video: Thursday night practice report - The Buffalo News
Mark Gaughan recaps practice in writing and video.

Bills' Dareus Narrowly Escapes Injury - WGR 550
"To his credit, Dareus stayed in one more snap after the injury, then walked with a slight limp over the the area the rest of to players were resting. It took a solid five minutes, and then the Bills training staff came over to attend to him. They made him walk a bit, and the team's worst fears were avoided."

Inside The Bills | Just a tweak for Dareus
"They just held him out for precautionary reasons," said Gailey. "He could’ve finished practice. He tweaked something and they said hold him out for the rest and we’ll get him back tomorrow."

Inside The Bills | TE Martin to miss day or 2
"He had a little something with his toe and it’s going to take him another day or so, but it’s really no big deal," said Gailey. "He’ll be back."

Inside The Bills | Where Smith will line up
"I think I’ll start off with mostly quarterback stuff but I’m going to run some routes and return kicks on special teams," said Smith. "I think the quarterback stuff so I can grab the entirety of the offense with protections. I think it’s a great plan by coach Gailey."

Inside The Bills | New QBs tip hat to Fitz
"Buffalo’s newest quarterbacks are doing what they can to master the offensive system as quickly and efficiently as possible. They’ve credited a new teammate for helping them get acclimated, namely Ryan Fitzpatrick."

More Bills News
Bills sign WR Davis - BuffaloBills.com
"For the second time in less than a week the Bills added a former first-round draft choice to their roster signing free agent WR Craig "Buster" Davis Thursday evening. The fifth-year wideout is a former 2007 draft choice of the San Diego Chargers. Davis has 4.4 speed and is known as a sharp route runner. After playing 14 games as a rookie in 2007, he’s played in 12 games the last three seasons."

Inside The Bills | Bills on the radio
"Here’s a rundown of where on the radio airwaves you can find Bills players Friday."

Inside The Bills | Chan still the play caller
"Oh yeah," Gailey said. "I’m doing that. I’m calling the plays this year."

Inside The Bills | What short offseason pushed back
We can get our base offense and base defense and special teams in there, but it’s all that situational football that’s going to be pushed back until after the second and third preseason game. And we’ll have to cover more of that mentally than physically because of the shortened time."

Thigpen is a pistol who's ready to fire - The Buffalo News
"I spoke with Chan the first day I could, when they lifted the lockout," Thigpen said. "I just felt like it was a great opportunity out here, already knowing the system. When I got a look at the playbook ... the first meeting, it felt like second nature to me."

Bills give WR Davis a shot - The Buffalo News
"Buster's got a ton of ability but he's just never really done it," said Bills coach Chan Gailey. "He's worth taking a look at to see if he can come do something special, becuase he's really an extremely talented young man."

Smith: Bills out to prove people wrong - The Buffalo News
"I come from a place where everyone tells me I can't do something, you're not good enough and you don't fit in here. I think we have a group of guys who feel that way, too. We may be not the most respected group of guys because of whatever reason. I think we are so talented right now that we are going to prove a lot of people wrong. ..."

Buffalo Bills' C.J. Spiller determined to have a better year | Democrat and Chronicle
"With nowhere to run, Spiller often tried to make too many moves, and all that did was allow the defenders to engulf him because in the NFL, the athletes are a whole lot bigger, stronger and faster than they were in college."

Plugging the holes: AFC East - AFC East Blog - ESPN
"There was simply no way the Bills were going to be able to adequately address all their holes in the space of a single offseason, and to their credit, they haven't thrown lots of money around trying to."

Bills' Evans Enters Unfamiliar Territory - WGR 550
"We’ve got to get him to become a better underneath receiver," Gailey opined. "We got to give him things that he can do, let him work on those things that make him better as a short receiver. We know he’s got the deep threat, we know he’s always had that and we got to help him get better in the intermediate and short areas."

Fitz deserves to be paid like a No. 1 - Jerry Sullivan
Jerry Sullivan wants Ryan Fitzpatrick to avoid being the 32nd-ranked starting QB on the salary scale this season.

Former Bills
Donte Whitner spurns Bengals for 49ers - AFC North Blog - ESPN
"Cincinnati thought it had Whitner, who agreed to terms to a two-year deal with the Bengals Thursday afternoon. It would have been the Bengals' biggest free-agent acquisition to date. But San Francisco swooped in late with a better contract for three years at $11.5 million, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter."

DB Whitner not to be for Bengals | Cincinnati.com | cincinnati.com
A recap of the day that was for Donte Whitner.

Bills decide against signing former Edinboro quarterback Harris | Erie Times-News
"Disappointed but undeterred, Trevor Harris still has a goal to play in the NFL. He's just not going to get that chance with the Buffalo Bills. Harris confirmed Thursday the Bills won't sign him to a free-agent contract after the team contacted him a week ago."

Whitner deal leaves 2-3 'home-grown' - The Buffalo News
"Nevertheless, the fact he will not be on the Bills' roster leaves Buffalo with only two or three "home-grown" first-round picks. Marcell Dareus, the 2011 first-rounder, is starting at defensive end. Eric Wood, a first-rounder in 2009, is starting at center. The 2008 first-rounder, Leodis McKelvin, is battling for a starting position at cornerback."

Former Bills coach Kragthorpe has Parkinson's - The Buffalo News
"Former Buffalo Bills quarterback coach Steve Kragthorpe has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and is relinquishing his duties as LSU's offensive coordinator, but is remaining on the Tigers' staff. He worked for the Bills in 2001-02."